Between The Fine Lines
by The Shades Of Gold
Summary: Their story started out so typical. A life was saved, therefore there was a debt to be repaid. What the Huntsman did not expect was to fall for his new master. Nor did he expect a thing like "true love" to come between them.
1. Chapter 1

_Once upon a time…_

_There was a Huntsman, a Beauty and a Beast. Which one is the outlier?_

**Chapter One: The Black Wolf**

The Huntsman was what all called him. That was how he presented himself to others. There were no names in his world. The wolves held no names; why should he be any different? Titles served no purpose. His companion was his Brother Wolf. He was the Huntsman. That was all needed. Names were not needed.

The early morning came at ease for a slumbering Huntsman. His eyes, blue as the deep ocean, fluttered awake. He often stayed away from the human villages and opted for the caves in the forests. The caves were more accepting of his brother. The white wolf nuzzled into his brother, not desiring to wake. The Huntsman smiled before he sat up on the cold floor. He stretched his muscles and awoke the rest of his body. Faint rays of sunlight touched upon the cave, giving a warm greeting to the two inhabitants.

"I am going to get us breakfast, but you will owe me for dinner," The Huntsman teased his wolf companion after he stood up in the cave. He stretched his body for the last time. He knew that it would take a while for his body to adjust to moving. He should be able to run and aim at his full potential within the hour.

The wolf grunted in response, rolling over to lie on his stomach. He opened one red eye and looked at his human companion. 'Go ahead. As long as I get a few more minutes of sleep' His body language read. The eye closed as the wolf exhaled and went to return to his slumber. He preferred to hunt in the night anyway.

A laugh was given by the Huntsman. He merely shook his head at the wolf as he picked up his bow and quiver of arrows. He made sure all the arrows were pointed properly, so they could cause a quick death for his prey. Content with his rigorous inspection, he gathered himself and made his way to leave the cave. It took a while before his eyes adjusted to the growing light. For that moment, he relaxed as he heard the sounds of the forest waking up. The birds calling out to their mates, the rabbits scurrying from one bush to the next, all of this was paradise. Once he could see, the Huntsman began his day.

There was a stream flowing by the cave and it served a spot for the Huntsman to groom and water himself. He bent down on his knees and reached into the cool water. He cupped the water in his hands and splashed his face with it. He removed the dirt and grime from his face, sighing in pleasure. The cold water was absorbed into his skin and the bangs of his hair. The Huntsman dipped into the water once more, this time drinking what he retrieved from the brook.

A couple of hours passed before he was able to track and kill two plump rabbits for a small breakfast. One rabbit for himself and one for Brother Wolf. He carried the hunt as he trekked back to the cave. As he walked through the forest, he found himself unable to remember the way back. He knew that he had passed a strawberry bush…

"Ah ha…." The Huntsman smiled as he found the bush in question. After taking a few of the berries for himself, he went on his way through the forest. He took the strawberries, one by one, and munched on them. The wolves never understand the human's desire for the sweet fruit. Finding the cave, the Huntsman went inside the cave and called for his Brother Wolf. Not hearing the pitter patter of the wolf's paws, the Huntsman went deeper inside, wondering where he could have gone.

As he walked in the cave, he began to notice that this was not the cave he had slept in that night. He started to double back and find his way back when he noticed the sound of whimpering. The Huntsman was fueled by curiosity as he went to look for the source of the noise. He traveled deeper into the cave. Finally, he found the cause of the sound.

At the end of the cave, he found a pack of wolves. A female, which held fur as white as winter snow, was lying on the ground. Two baby wolves, only a few days old, were nursing from the white wolf. They were the cause of the whimpering. Another set of pups, this pair older, were playing in a corner. The baby wolves were pink and faint hairs were growing on their skin. The older pups had dark gray fur that camouflaged with the cave.

The Huntsman smiled before he went to hide himself behind a slab of stone, his eyes downcast. He gave respect to the nursing mother (being raised to respect all females with their young) and instead looked at the playing pups. They seemed to be strong pups, obviously from a powerful sire. A few moments of observation passed before the Huntsman decided to leave the pack and go to find his brother. As he turned, he heard the sound of something heavy being dragged into the cave.

A large, black wolf was entering the cave. In its mouth, he was dragging a large deer in the cave. The Huntsman watched as he took the deer to the rest of the pack. He was intrigued. He saw that it was obviously a strong and big wolf, but how could just one take down such a large steer? Seeing the black wolf come to them, the two older pups ran to him. They jumped on the black wolf, going to pull at his ears. The black wolf gave a playful growl before he nuzzled the pups. After leaving the deer on the ground, the black wolf went to nuzzle the white wolf. The affection and love for each other radiated through the entire cave.

The Huntsman watched upon this wolf pack with interest. He was always touched by the closeness of the family bond even though he was an outsider. He would never have this comforting scene of his own. The only species he related to were the wolves. And he could never have a wolf as a mate. There has never been a human female that attracted him. That meant there would be no pups in his future.

Deciding he would take his leave, the Huntsman went to walk away. As he did, he suddenly heard silence. He turned and he saw the black wolf staring at him. The Huntsman gave a kind smile and stood his ground as he began his communication with the wolf. But he barely started moving before the black wolf starting growling.

'I'm not here to fight' The Huntsman started to relate. But the black wolf paid it no mind as he started for the human intruder. Seeing this hostility, the Huntsman backed away at once. He gave a growl of his own, saying that he was not one to be trifled with. There was a pause as the black wolf looked back to his family. The silence seemed everlasting. Taking this opportunity, the Huntsman turned and went to leave. He did not run, not wanting to invoke the wrath of the black wolf.

That was apparently the wrong choice. As soon as the Huntsman went to leave the cave, the wolf gave a loud howl. There was the loud sound of paws hitting the ground as the man turned around. The black wolf was charging after him. There was going to be a fight. Trusting his first instinct, the Huntsman ran out of the cave at his highest speed. It wasn't long before he was able to get out of the cave, so he did have more options on where to run.

But he would not run. He would protect his right to live. The Huntsman pulled out his bow and went to get his arrow. He had no intention to use it. Merely, he would threaten the wolf with his weapon. It was one of his only options. As his hand touched upon the arrow though, the wolf had already left the cave. The being, now being in the light, looked even more hellish. His eyes were red, much like the Huntsman's Brother Wolf, but they held no warmth now.

'I don't want to hurt you. Think on your family' The Huntsman conveyed as he stared into the eyes of the black wolf. He pleaded for the wolf to understand him. The last thing he wanted was to take the wolf's life and deprive the family of father and mate.

Seeing that this was not an average human, the black wolf stared back. He understood that this was a man who knew the ways of the wolf. That gave him reason to pause. But that pause was short lived before the black wolf made his decision.

A yell was given as the Huntsman saw the wolf coming for him. He barely had time to set his arrow in place before the wolf jumped on him. The man fell back on the ground with the black wolf on top of him. The bow was thrown to the side along with his arrows. The weight of the wolf made the Huntsman wince in fear. His hand gripped on his belt and pulled out his knife. He went to bring the knife down on the wolf. The blade went into the wolf's stomach, causing the wolf to howl in pain. In blind reaction, the wolf lunged and bit at the Huntsman's shoulder.

Human and wolf blood mixed as the two rolled on the forest ground. The Huntsman was finally able to get the wolf off him. As soon as he did, he leapt to his feet and went to grab his bow. The pain from his shoulder was blinding him. He was trembling in pain as blood stained his clothes. Only a few seconds passed before the wolf went to lunge at him again.

This time, the Huntsman was not knocked down. Instead, the wolf went to grab at the man's leg. It sunk its sharp teeth through the leather into the skin. There was a yell as the Huntsman went to stab at the wolf again. But he couldn't. He started to see double as his pain disoriented him. He fell to the ground, lying in his agony. He could hear the wolf come towards him. There was silence in the air. He could feel the hot breath on his neck. He knew it. He knew the wolf was going to finish him off…

"Now what have we here?" came a sly voice. It echoed in his mind. Blurry eyed, the Huntsman looked for the source of the noise. All he could see was a fuzzy image of a man. "A damsel in distress I see?"

"Help…" the Huntsman groaned, ignoring the quip. He saw the black wolf growl at this new intruder. This was obviously not a good day for him.

There was a shrill laughter that seemed to make the trees shake. Even the wolf stopped in confusion. Within moments, there was the sound of humming in the air. The Huntsman watched as a dark purple cloud went to engulf the wolf. There was the terrible, loud sound of the wolf's howls of agony. The Huntsman could not bear to hear it.

"I suppose this is my lucky day. I needed a new pair of boots," The high pitched voice said, chuckling with amusement.

After hearing this confession, the Huntsman was alarmed at the prospect. Even after he was viciously attacked, he didn't want the wolf to die. "No you can't…You can't kill him. He was protecting his pack…He thought I was a danger…" He forced himself to at least sit up. "He has a family. Pups…They'll die without him. He's their caretaker."

The figure seemed to contemplate his answer. The purple smoke still stayed around the wolf for a few moments before vanishing. The wolf gave a sharp whine before it retreated into the cave, seeing that this battle was not going to be won. A trail of blood followed him, but as the wolf passed the Huntsman, the man saw that the wolf's wounds were slowly closing.

The figure then walked over to the Huntsman; the sound of his boots seemed to be as loud as thunder. Blue eyes began to droop as he slurred a 'thank you'. He tumbled, face first, into the dirt under him. His body was shutting down. He was losing too much blood…

"'Thank you.' Is that what you said?" The figure let out a sharp chuckle "…Don't thank me yet. I'm not through with you," was the last thing the Huntsman heard from his savior before he fell into the darkness.


	2. A Wolf At The Door

_The story begins with the Beast saving the life of the Huntsman. Rather than out of charity, the purpose of this act was to gain something._

**Chapter Two: The Wolf At The Door**

The Huntsman awoke to the sound of a fire crinkling. Dazed and disoriented, the man started to return back to the world of the living. He forced his eyes open and took in the sight around him. He was greeted by warm, bright colors with shadows accompanying the light. He looked around and he saw that he was in a hut of sorts. It was a circular shape, maybe ten feet in diameter. A small fire was the cause of the light. It was nestled in the center of the room. Besides the human and fire, there was little else that occupied the hut.

He went to move his body and he found himself confined. Panicked at first, he realized that a heavy blanket was the thing restricting his movement. Using the little strength he had, he pushed the covering off his body.

After being able to take the blanket off, he realized how easy his arms moved. He expected there to be pain in his shoulder. The Huntsman moved his hand to his shoulder and slipped his fingers between the flesh and clothing. There was no wound on his body, not even the bulge of a scar. After he sat up, he went to check on his leg. But before he could do so, he froze at the sound of someone coming in.

"Awake, are we?"

The voice was back now. Eager to see who held the voice, the Huntsman turned his head in the direction of the sound. As he absorbed the creature before him, his mouth slowly opened as his eyes filled with awe.

The first thing he noticed was the skin. It looked like dark leather sprinkled with gold which in of itself was interesting. Eyes traveled from the skin to the black and blue, form fitting clothing. They were expensive material and the quality was exquisite. Curls of brown hair touched the shoulders in a scraggly and unkempt manner. From the hair, he went to the eyes. The eyes were what intrigued him the most. Not even the odd skin could compare to the deep pools of yellow. The man's eyes were yellow. A rich, lovely dark yellow like they were liquid gold.

"You saved me…" The Huntsman replied, almost dumbly. He didn't know how to feel. He supposed that "grateful" would be a great place to start. He took the blanket fully off his body as he went to stretch his limbs, "I thank you. If there is anything you ever need-"

"Actually, it's funny that you mention that," The man stated as he gave a wave of the hand, carelessly gesturing the Huntsman to settle down.

Thrown off by this, he did settle down as indicated. He was as still as could be and waited for his savior to continue. He was always caught off guard by the ways of the humans. But could this man even be considered human? The Huntsman had never seen one who looked like him and held all that magical power. This creature was not natural. And rather that scaring the young man, it intrigued him.

"I suppose that introductions are in order. My name is Rumpelstiltskin," The gray man said, giving an elaborate bow. As his skin hit the light of the fire, the Huntsman saw that the skin was more 'scaly than it was leather.

A head was cocked in an almost childlike wonder. There was a fear, though. A sliver of anxiousness and anticipation filled his stomach in an uncomfortable manner. Was there something to be scared of? This was the man who saved him after all.

The silence in the room lasted a few moments before the Huntsman realized that he was supposed to speak next. Freezing up, he stumbled over his words, trying to remember how humans went about these things, "You can call me 'Huntsman'. It's what most people call me."

The man identified as Rumpelstiltskin gave a raise of his eyebrow and appeared amused. "Oh? Pity you didn't give me a proper name…"

Before the Huntsman could question why he needed a name, Rumpelstiltskin went on with his talking. "Now that we have got the pleasantries out of the way, let us get down to business." He went into his jacket pocket and pulled out a rolled up scroll. With a simple shake, the scroll opened up to reveal a long set of words. A feather quill appeared out of nowhere in the Huntsman's hands, shocking the young man. "Just sign on the dotted line and we can move along." Rumpelstiltskin said, with an excited flair about him.

The Huntsman felt his stomach drop as the whole situation started to overwhelm him. Raised in the wilds, he was taught many things. To read was not one of those lessons. Next, you had the fact that Rumpelstiltskin did recognize that the Huntsman was in his debt. He supposed that it was proper. The creature did save his life and he deserved to be paid in full for such a favor. And the biggest thing that bothered him was this long piece of paper before him. It was drenched in words and letters. He did not know where to begin.

"Why do I have to sign this?" The Huntsman said, trying to cover up his apparent disability. "I don't need to sign something to pay a debt. You have my word that I'll-" He was stopped at one by a sudden dark finger wagging in his face.

"Nu, nu, nu," Rumpelstiltskin teased with a wide grin on his face. "Sign the contract that way you can pay me back. If you back out on your deal, you don't want to deal with the consequences. Now, sign on the line." His voice was practically like a song. How can someone be so flamboyant and outlandish? No pack would ever tolerate him, was the Huntsman's thought.

Realizing he was backed into a corner, the Huntsman slowly admitted, "I can't…I can't…I can't write…" He finally spat out, at once getting defensive over his defect. "You don't write your way into hunting dinner. You can't defend your pack by reading a piece of paper. It's-"

For the second time, he was interrupted by the wagging finger. "You believe that you're the only one in this world that can't?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, toning down his excitement. "It's nothing to be ashamed of." He exhaled before telling the Huntsman. "I usually deal with people who can read…So I cannot in good conscience have you sign my contract without telling you what it is." He smirked before he went to sit down next to the Huntsman, showing him the paper he called 'contract'

Rumpelstiltskin was surprisingly warm, the Huntsman noticed. Most scaly creatures had cold blood, but he could feel the heat from the man sitting next to him. It was intriguing, but he could not think of that now. He looked over the contract and felt dizzy by all the information he had to take in.

"Essentially, I saved your life. Therefore a service must be given. You are to come with me on my travels and obey each order and command. I feel that a year serving me is not too much to ask," Rumpelstiltskin told the Huntsman as he ran his fingers over the written word fondly. He turned over and explained, "The contract merely says that and you signing it would be the agreement that you will pay me back."

"Seems like there's an awful amount of words for what you just told me," The Huntsman said, his own fingers running down each word. There was a pause before he gave a shrug. "I suppose writing is more complicated than I thought…"

Rumpelstiltskin appeared pleased with something. With what, the Huntsman wasn't sure. He mulled over the request and he realized how long a year really was. That was a winter where he could not run in the snow. That was a spring he could not see the new families. That was a summer he could not spend in the river. That was an autumn he could not lie with his pack in golden leaves.

And to serve someone…Wolves held no master and neither would he. The forest was in no terms an equal land, but no one thought so highly of themselves that they took slaves of the inhabitants. That was a human creation.

"And if I say no?" The Huntsman questioned as he looked at the imp, his eyes glaring in his defiance.

"Then I let your wounds open back up and leave you to the black wolf so he may take his revenge," Rumpelstiltskin said as his hand went to the Huntsman's shoulder. His fingers glowed briefly and the Huntsman hissed in pain. He pushed the hand away and pulled down the sleeve of his shoulder. Alarmed, he saw that the wound had opened back up to reveal the large and terrible bite mark. Blood was oozing out of it once more, this time at a rapid pace.

"Don't make me go to the leg just to prove a point," Rumpelstiltskin smirked as he went to close back the wound on the shoulder. "So, do we have a deal?"

The Huntsman asked, seeing that he was in a bind, "What am I going to be doing for you?" At least he could know what to look forward to for the next four seasons.

"This and that," There it was again. That careless gesture as he waved his hand, it annoyed the Huntsman. Did he not realize what was at stake? As if he read the wounded man's mind, Rumpelstiltskin explained, "As you can see, there is much I can do with magic. However, using so much magic, especially in combat drains me. So you would see where a bodyguard became useful."

"So I would be a puppet for combat…" The Huntsman said slowly, hoping that 'puppet' was the right word for what he was trying to say. The last thing he wanted was to sound more ignorant than he already sounded. "That's all? And after a year, I will be free."

"After that year, you never have to see me again," Rumpelstiltskin said as he indicated the quill once more. "Can you sign your name?"

The Huntsman nodded, knowing barely how to do it. But he still knew. He put the quill to the dotted line indicated and gave his barely legible, chicken scratched signature. Nevertheless, it was a binding signature.

"Excellent…" And the paper rolled back up into the scroll and it was tucked safely awake in the jacket pocket. After signing the contract, the Huntsman made a realization.

"Can I say goodbye to my pack? My brother, at least? He needs to know what happened," The Huntsman pleaded as he watched Rumpelstiltskin get back up. A shrill giggle was his answer. It was a sound that made his heart stop and drop to the pit of his stomach.

Slumping back into the lying position, the Huntsman quivered as he tried to hold back his emotions. Wolves were stoic creatures, but they did express true sorrow. Their howls were constant. Whenever there was bad news such as a death or a separation, they would cry their sadness and sympathy. But in the human world, it was apparently taboo to reveal such inner thoughts. Only females did it, it appeared. And there was a question of manhood if you were to cry. And that humiliated the Huntsman terribly.

He was holding back his pain until he saw that Rumpelstiltskin had left the hut. He held his breath, wondering if the imp would come back. A few minutes past and the Huntsman saw that it was safe. Only one tear dripped down his cheek and only one sob escaped his lips. But it was enough for him to pool out all his fear and all his loss.


End file.
